


Can't Stand Me Now

by alys24



Series: Highschool AU [1]
Category: Southern Vampire Mysteries - Charlaine Harris
Genre: All Human, F/M, Highschool AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-09
Updated: 2015-05-09
Packaged: 2018-03-22 05:54:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3717625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alys24/pseuds/alys24
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eric's a jock failing school, and Sookie's a straight-A nerd who could use some extra money, so she's the perfect candidate to tutor him. Only problem is, in her eyes, he's an insufferable jerk.<br/>This will probably be a collection of one shots based off the same couple and au.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Can't Stand Me Now

Sookie pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, sighing into her book. 

Northman and Herveaux were playing music aloud at the next table - in the library for goodness' sake. Alcide's on-again-off-again girlfriend was sitting on his lap, every so often whispering things in his ear that made his booming laugh echo around the huge room. 

Sookie tried her hardest to concentrate, and not bring attention to herself, although she was sitting directly across from them - if they fancied continuing their periodic torture, they'd start any time they liked. 

She sighed again, grateful, when Alcide and his girlfriend left, and the music faded with them. Sookie finally concentrated on her textbook, trying really hard to learn about second order differentials. 

The chair pulled out beside her and some one sat down, scraping the legs on the floor. "Hey, Stackhouse, how're you doing?"

She refused to look up, and flinched when his fingers removed her glasses. 

"Come on, Sook, what're you up to nowadays?"

"Please leave me alone, Eric." She didn't bother reaching for her glasses, he wouldn't give them back. 

"You know, you look pretty cute without the glasses."

"Thanks." She sighed. He was getting his finger prints all over her lenses. She imagined it was deliberate. 

"Though to be fair, you look pretty hot with them on. Kinda like a naughty secretary."

"Eric, please leave me alone." She moved in her seat, angling herself away from him. 

"Look, I'm failing calculus, could you help me out?" His voice was gentle. He was probably trying to not be overheard by the empty library. 

She gave a short laugh. "You want me to  _help_ you? You?"

"Yeah, well, I'll pay you? Like, thirty dollars an hour?" She sighed again at this. 

There was no way she could turn down that money. Her clothes had holes in, her boots were wearing through, and all of her underwear were too small. Her Gran was out of work, her brother Jason was a layabout, and their inheritance was quickly running out. They needed food more than they needed clothes. 

"Fine. Thirty dollars an hour. Twice a week, ok? Tuesday and Thursday, straight after school for an hour each."

"Ok, fine. I need to pass."

"Right, Eric. I'll do my best. But you have to work too."

"I know, I meant- I meant I'll do whatever you want."

 

* * *

 

Sookie was really pretty. 

Eric noticed that more regularly as the weeks went by, and he wished he hadn't given her such a hard time in the past, especially when he considered her demeanour now. 

She was quiet. Kept to herself - in the library she slouched down in her chair to read her book. She clearly expected worse from him when he sat next to her - it didn't escape his notice that she flinched when he took her glasses. 

She had long blonde hair, bright blue eyes hidden behind these hipster glasses that suited her face. She wore huge hoodies and ripped jeans, and her wavy hair was usually pulled into a bun, but occasionally she let it fall down her back to her hips. She also wore these combat boots that Alcide liked to rip the shit out of her for. They were old and warn and clearly needed replacing desperately. 

Eric wasn't dumb. He mostly just failed to pay attention. He was confident that with Sookie's help, he'd soon get his grades back up. 

He liked to think that he was pretty much perfect. He had an awesome body, down to the v-lines between his hips, and if he wasn't such a dick, he could probably get Sookie to like him if he tried. 

So he thought that he would. 

He liked her. She was sweet to everyone, polite, adorable. She blushed when people opened doors for her, for goodness' sakes. He felt awful about the way he'd treated her, and he'd found himself becoming more protective of her every time Alcide made one of his crappy comments. 

He suspected it had to do with Pam, his change of attitude. She pointed out regularly how Sookie was just being quiet, she just wanted to be left alone, and how pretty she was. After she'd pointed out some of Sookie's cute mannerisms, Eric had started to notice more.

He honestly had no idea how she'd become a target in the first place. 

He left her to study, letting her know that he'd be on time when Tuesday came around. 

 

* * *

 

He was being good, she had to admit. 

He worked hard, and he made fewer and fewer irritating comments as the weeks went by, though she noticed him flirting with her more and more - naturally she assumed it was part of a bet or something, so she sighed and tried not to blush every time. 

After a few weeks, she had enough money to go to a store and pick up some new clothes. 

First came the boots. She found some pretty brown faux-leather knee-high boots with a little heel on them on sale. 

She found two new pairs of jeans, new t-shirts, a pretty, floaty blouse, and a hoodie that actually fit, as well as a pretty sundress. 

It came to under the amount that she had collected, and she felt proud of her little haul, and decided she could look at some underwear. She had a little rule about underwear - it was acceptable to buy an expensive pair, if she could also find a cheap multi-pack to even it out.

So she was just looking at the more expensive ones when she heard a chuckle coming from behind her. 

"Want me to help you pick?"

She dropped the little pink panties she was holding and span to face him. "Eric!"

"I think you'd look  _very_ nice in some black ones. Maybe these." He pointed to a lace thong. 

"Eric- what are you doing here?" 

"I was buying some underwear myself," he gestured into his basket, to some expensive looking boxers. 

"Oooh-kay." She brought her eyes back to his face, and tried to focus on something other than the startlingly earnest look in his suddenly bright blue eyes. 

"Sookie, I have a question for you."

"Uhhuh?"

"There's a party tonight at Tray's house, I was wondering if, maybe you'd like to be my date? If you don't have plans, I mean, I'm sorry it's such short notice-"

"Eric, I can't."

"Oh." His face fell. He tried a half smile at her. "Sorry, I shouldn't have left it so late."

"It's not that-" She stopped there, unsure of how to continue. 

"What?"

"I don't-"

"What?"

"Honestly? I don't know what your intentions are. And I don't trust them." He frowned at her. "I've been tutoring you for the last two months, but before that you'd regularly bully me, and I don't feel like being the punchline to some big joke."

"Sookie-"

"Eric, I can't go with you to a party."

"Sookie, please? I promise you, I regret hurting you more than you know. You're so awesome, you're adorable, you're polite and sweet, you have awesome taste in music, you're helping me study and actually seem to think I can make it, and you're so beautiful." She blushed, and was grateful when he ignored it. "I'd like the opportunity to take you out, and try and prove to you that I don't wanna be that ass that I have been any more. I like you, Sook. My intentions are to take you out and have fun with you, and show you a good time and a fun party. Please?"

She swallowed and looked at her feet. He seemed as though he was being honest - and he had been much better to her for the last several weeks. She guessed she could give him a chance, right?

"Fine. But only if I can bring a friend."

"Of course." He nodded, seeming pleased that she said yes. "Can I pick you up?" She nodded. "Awesome. I'll be there at eight. I'll let you continue shopping now, Sook, see you later."

He grinned at her and turned away.

She turned back to the underwear, smiling to herself. A date. She actually had a date. 

She picked out some black boyshorts, and put them in her basket, almost skipping to the counter, texting Amelia on the way. 

_Ames, I have a date to a party. Fancy escorting?_

It wasn't long until she got an answer, just as she was sitting down on the bus to take her home.

_Fuck yes, I'll be over in 20 for prep_

 

* * *

 

"How's you doing, gorgeous?" Amelia wrapped her in a one-armed hug, the other arm weighed down with bags of what looked like clothes. 

"Hey, Ames, I'm good."

"Who's the fella?"

"Eric Northman?"

"What, the fucker who's been a dick to you for the last 6 years?" She glared at Sookie.

"Yeah. That's why I need the chaperone." Sookie led her up the stairs to her room, and Amelia dumped the bags on the floor by the foot of the bed.

"He hot?"

"Extremely."

"Ok, then." Ames shrugged and pulled out some clothes from her bags and laid them on the bed. 

"Actually, I have an outfit in mind...?"

"Ok, give it to me."

Sookie pulled her new jeans out of her wardrobe, along with the floaty blouse. 

It had a 'v' that dipped down to show her cleavage, so she thought Ames would approve. 

"Hmmmm." Amelia scrutinised it. "Try them on?"

"Ok." Sookie went into the bathroom and came out again with the clothes on. 

Ames smiled approvingly at the cleavage, and gestured for her to turn around. "Yes. They make your butt look awesome."

"Ok then," Sookie grinned at her. 

"Now help me pick something to wear." Amelia smirked back. 

 

* * *

 

 

The doorbell rang at eight on the dot.

Amelia ran to get it in her six inch heels, and a short tight dress that hung low at the back. 

Her make-up was only a little darker than Sookie's, as Amelia had done them both and her hair had been straightened whilst Sookie's now hung in ringlets. 

Thankfully, both Gran and Jason were out, so they couldn't embarrass her. She just had to worry about Amelia. 

Eric looked faintly confused when she opened the door. 

"Uhm, hi, is Sookie here?" 

"Yeah, she's just coming- you know you're even hotter than she said you were."

"Amelia!" Sookie's face flushed as she got to the door. She had accompanied her outfit with her new boots, and Ames thought she looked good. "Sorry about her. Eric this is Amelia, Ames this is Eric. Try to be good." 

Amelia grinned at her. "I'll go get in the car."

"Hi, Sookie." Eric said softly, as soon as she was out of earshot. "You look really beautiful tonight."

"Thank you," she blushed again and looked him up and down. He was in jeans and a loose fitting v-neck. He looked like a GQ model. "You look really good too."

He smiled at her, encouragingly. "Shall we get going?"

"Sure." 

She locked the door and started down the drive. 

"Do you mind if I...?" He took her hand loosely, so she could take it back if she wished, but she smiled up at him. 

At the car he opened the door for her to get in, before going round to the driver's side. 

 

* * *

 

 

Once at the party, Sookie looked around nervously. 

The music was loud, and the island in the kitchen seemed to be dedicated solely to alcohol.

"Do you want me to get you a drink?" Eric asked her over the music. 

"Sure, cider please." Sookie smiled at him. 

Amelia had already vanished in search of her own drink. Sookie rolled her eyes at how effective a chaperone she was.

"Here you go, Sook," Eric handed her an unopened can, and took a sip from his own. 

Suddenly Eric had a very big man wrapped around him, giving him a massive hug. Sookie took a gulp from her drink, trying to hide her nervousness. 

"Hi, Tray. How's it going?" 

"Pretty good, Eric, who's this little hot piece of ass?" Another swallow of cider. 

Eric chuckled. "Straight to the point, huh? This classy little lady here is Sookie Stackhouse. She's my date. Sook, this is Tray. This is his house."

"It's really nice-" she was cut off when Tray wrapped her in a big hug.

"Hi, Sookie, look after him ok? He's really a good guy." He said in her ear so that Eric couldn't hear him.

"Oh-kay. Ok. I will." She smiled at him.

Tray released her, and stepped back. "Well, I'd better go make the rounds. I'll see you two later." He winked at Sookie.

"Wanna dance, Sookie?" Eric asked her, holding out his hand to her. 

"Sure," she smiled at him. Dancing was something she knew how to do. She took a few more swallows of her drink before she put the almost empty can on the side. 

His hands rested on her hips, causing electricity to go through her when he pulled her towards him. Her arms went up around his neck, and their hips swayed in time. 

She turned so her back was to him, and he pulled her a little closer so that her back was pressed against his chest. His firm, muscular chest. 

Damn her being a lightweight. 

She started grinding against him a little, one of her hands over one of his on her hip, and the other in her hair.

"Sookie," Eric's voice was a little rough. "Sook, you're really good at this, aren't you?"

"Hmmm, I like dancing," she smiled up at him. "I gotta go find a loo, be right back."

She tottered away, up the stairs and opened the doors until she found the bathroom.

Afterwards, Sookie found Amelia pouring herself a drink in the kitchen. She threw her arms around her friend and grinned, "Thanks for coming Ames, you're making it awesome. A+ friend."

"You're welcome. If you're looking for your Beau, I think I saw him go out into the garden earlier."

"Okey dokey. Ames he's hot, I wanna dance."

She slipped between the people in the way of the door and went outside.

"...honestly, Eric, she's a fucking geek, I don't see why you wanna hit that."

"Watch it Alcide, it's not about that. She's cute and funny and intelligent and she actually gives a crap about people. She's pretty awesome."

"Yeah, whatever." Alcide shook his head, and turned away when he saw Sookie coming towards them.

"Hey, Eric," her voice was gentle.

"Hey Sookie," he smiled at her.

"Why're you here?" Alcide faced her, his tone exasperated.

"She's here because she wants to be and I asked her to be. Don't be a twat, Alcide."

Alcide rounded on him, his voice rising, "Fuck off, Eric, you thought she was a waste of breathable air just as much as I did before you turned into such a pussy. I don't give a fuck if she's sucking your-" 

Eric hit him.

"I told you not to be a twat, Alcide." 

Alcide clutched his face, blood spilled from between his fingers, and he bellowed something unintelligible at Eric.

"She is a person, Alcide. You can't say these kind of things about her. So you leave. Now."

Alcide stumbled away, and Eric turned to face Sookie, hanging his head.

"Sookie, I'm so sorry-"

"Is your hand ok?" 

He looked down at it, and seemed surprised when he saw blood.

"I should wash it."

She led him to the kitchen and watched as he turned on the tap.

"Are you ok?" He asked her, as the water ran red. 

"Fine. How's your hand?"

"It's fine. It must have been his blood. I'm sorry for how I acted out there. I got angry because he's been a dick about you for ages now, and I couldn't stand it anymore. I'm sorry. You're pretty awesome, you know, Sookie."

"Thank you. Thank you for sticking up for me."

"You have no idea how much I regret how I was before, Sookie. I'm sorry for that too."

"Thank you. You're much nicer than I used to think you were."

He chuckled. "Cheers. I try."

Sookie sat up on the kitchen counter, and Eric dried his hands. The party had started to dissolve into pairs of sweaty teenagers either making out or dancing fairly explicitly. Sookie could see Amelia curled up on the sofa with a girl, their mouths moving frantically against each others. Eric moved to stand between her legs. 

Sookie raised her hand to place it on his chest. She tried not to let on how hot she thought his hard muscles were. 

"You're really pretty, Sook," he lifted his hand to move a little of her fringe out of her face. "Do you maybe fancy getting out of here? I'm not gonna take advantage of you. Honestly, we can go straight back to yours, and I will leave whenever you want me to."

Sookie frowned, a little. "What about Ames?"

On cue, Amelia stumbled into Eric. "Hi, guys. Fancy going? I think I need to go pass out somewhere."

Eric helped her to the car, and settled her in the back seat. 

Once they got back to Sookie's, he helped Amelia get settled under the covers in the guest room, and then followed Sookie back into her living room. 

"You're really short, aren't you," he grinned at her. 

"Hey, we can't all be six foot four Adonises."

"No, you're an Aphrodite. That's true." His smile softened. 

"Do you wanna stay for a bit?" Sookie asked him. "Maybe have a drink?" 

"Sure," he sat on the sofa where she gestured. "Could I have a water?"

"Of course. I'll be right back." Once in the kitchen, Sookie took a deep breath. So, she had the hottest boy in the school in her living room. She couldn't decide if this was her worst fear, or the best thing that could have happened to her. Maybe both. 

She returned with his water, and her own, and sat on the sofa next to him, feeling a little awkward. 

Eric settled his water on a coaster on the coffee table, and shifted a little closer to Sookie. She leaned back against the sofa, trying to relax. 

"Sookie, you seem really really tense." He smiled at her gently. "Would you like me to go?"

"No," she answered quickly, turning a little to face him. "I just-"

"What, you're nervous?"

"Maybe," she whispered. "A little." She looked down at her hands. 

"Don't worry, me too." Eric tilted her head up with a finger, and then ran it up her jaw to cup her neck with his hand. 

She looked at him, and tried not to bite her lip. 

He leaned in, and then his lips were on hers. 

His kiss was gentle, his mouth moving softly with hers. 

She found it easier to keep up than she thought she would. Her hands moved, one to his shoulder, the other to his hip. She gasped a little, when his fingers wound in her hair, and he pulled her closer. 

He pulled away slowly, as though he was reluctant, and his hand started to smooth down the hair he'd knotted. 

"Sorry," he whispered. 

"Don't be," she grinned at him sheepishly. "Fancy doing it again?"

"Sure," he smiled at her, and leaned in to kiss her again. 


End file.
